| 41. |
- Corrales, Roldan, et al.
(författare)
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Population structure of Reyna Creole cattle in Nicaragua
- 2010
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Ingår i: Tropical Animal Health and Production. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0049-4747 .- 1573-7438. ; 42, s. 1427-1434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reyna Creole cattle originated from Bos taurus cattle brought to Latin America during the Spanish colonization in the fifteenth century and are the only remaining local breed in Nicaragua. However, the current genetic status of this breed is unknown. Therefore, the population structure of three recorded Reyna Creole herds in Nicaragua was studied to estimate their level of inbreeding, effective population size, and generation intervals. Data from 2,609 animals born between 1958 and 2007 were analyzed. A pedigree completeness index higher than 0.8 was required to obtain reliable estimates of the level of inbreeding, and this criterion was met for 367 animals (14%) in two herds. The average level of inbreeding was 13.0%, with values ranging from 0% to 43.8% for individual animals. One of the herds had an average inbreeding level of 21.6%, primarily due to long periods in which the same bulls were used for mating, leading to excessive frequencies of matings between closely related animals. The effective population size differed between years and ranged from 28 to 46 animals, showing that the Reyna Creole cattle breed is endangered, close to critical status. The average generation interval was 6.9 years with values as high as 19.1 years for some sires that were used for artificial insemination over a long period of time. Due to the high level of inbreeding and small population size, urgent actions are required for the development of a breeding program to protect the breed and support its sustainable utilization.
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| 42. |
- Torres, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Decreased Kidney Function of Unknown Cause in Nicaragua : A Community-Based Survey
- 2010
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Ingår i: American Journal of Kidney Diseases. - : Elsevier BV. - 0272-6386 .- 1523-6838. ; 55:3, s. 485-496
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: End-stage kidney disease overwhelms health services in Central America. We determined prevalences of decreased kidney function in distinct populations in the most affected region of Nicaragua. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting & Participants: Total populations aged 20-60 years of 5 villages in Northwest Nicaragua: mining/subsistence farming (elevation, 100-300 m above sea level), banana/sugarcane (100-300 m), fishing (0-100 m), services (0-100 m), and coffee (200-675 m); 479 men and 617 women (83% response). Predictor or Factor: Village; participant sex, age, and occupation; conventional chronic kidney disease risk factors. Outcomes: Serum creatinine (SCr) values greater than laboratory reference range for sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2), proteinuria stratified in the low (dipstick protein excretion, 30-300 mg/dL) and high (>300 mg/dL) range. Results: Prevalences of abnormal SCr levels: 18% (of all men) and 5% (of all women); in the mining/subsistence farming village, 26% and 7%; banana/sugarcane, 22% and 6%; fishing, 13% and 4%; services, 0% and 1%; and coffee, 7% and 0%. Prevalences of estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m2: 14% (of all men) and 3% (of all women); in the listed villages, 19% and 5%, 17% and 4%, 10% and 2%, 0% and 0%, and 7% and 0%, respectively. Proteinuria, predominantly in the low range, affected 14% and 11% of all men and women without marked differences between villages. By occupation, abnormal SCr levels occurred in 31% and 24% of male and female agricultural workers at 100-300 m above sea level, but not at higher altitudes, and also was high in male artisans (43%), construction workers (15%), and miners (14%). In logistic regression models, for the banana/sugarcane and mining/subsistence farming villages, high blood pressure and age were significant predictors of abnormal SCr levels in men, and for mining/subsistence farming, age in women. Limitations: Causality is not addressed. Conclusions: In some Nicaraguan villages and population segments, men in particular show a high prevalence of decreased kidney function of unknown origin, possibly environmental or occupational.
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| 43. |
- Vargas Chevez, Norman, 1976-
(författare)
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A unified strategic business and IT alignment model : A study in the public universities of Nicaragua
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A number of attempts have been made to define strategic business and information technology (IT) alignment; several representations of what it is are available in academic and practitioners’ fields. The literature suggests that firms need to achieve strategic business and IT alignment to be competitive. Strategic business and IT alignment impact business performance and IT effectiveness. We propose a unified strategic business and IT alignment model based on four strategic business and IT alignment models: Strategic Alignment Model (SAM), Strategic Alignment Maturity Model (SAMM), information system strategic alignment model and an operational model of strategic alignment. I argue that such a unified model will provide a better understanding of the nature and key aspects of strategic business and IT alignment from different, and sometimes complementary, theories. The unified model represents the concepts and instruments used in these four strategic businesses and IT alignment models. Our principal research goal is to pave the way to develop a common understanding between the different models. The components of the unified strategic business and IT alignment model were ranked with a group of IT experts and business experts from four public universities in Nicaragua. The result can be used as a basis for improving strategic business and IT alignment.
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| 44. |
- Salazar, Mariano, et al.
(författare)
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Violence against women and unintended pregnancies in Nicaragua : a population-based multilevel study
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Women's Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6874. ; 14, s. 26-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Despite an increased use of contraceptive methods by women, unintended pregnancies represent one of the most evident violations of women's sexual and reproductive rights around the world. This study aims to measure the association between individual and community exposure to different forms of violence against women (physical/sexual violence by the partner, sexual abuse by any person, or controlling behavior by the partner) and unintended pregnancies.Methods: Data from the 2006/2007 Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey were used. For the current study, 5347 women who reported a live birth in the five years prior to the survey and who were married or cohabitating at the time of the data collection were selected. Women's exposure to controlling behaviors by their partners was measured using six questions from the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Area-level variables were constructed by aggregating the individual level exposures to violence into an exposure measurement of the municipality as a whole (n = 142); which is the basic political division in Nicaragua. Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze the data.Results: In total, 37.1% of the pregnancies were reported as unintended. After adjusting for all variables included in the model, individual exposure to controlling behavior by a partner (AOR = 1.28, 95% CrI = 1.13-1.44), ever exposure to sexual abuse (AOR = 1.31, 95% CrI = 1.03-1.62), and ever exposure to physical/sexual intimate partner violence (AOR = 1.44, 95% CrI = 1.24-1.66) were significantly associated with unintended pregnancies. Women who lived in municipalities in the highest tertile of controlling behavior by a partner had 1.25 times higher odds of reporting an unintended pregnancy than women living in municipalities in the lowest tertile (AOR = 1.25, 95% CrI = 1.03-1.48).Conclusions: Nicaraguan women often experience unintended pregnancies, and the occurrence of unintended pregnancies is significantly associated with exposure to different forms of violence against women at both the individual and the municipality level. National policies aiming to facilitate women's ability to exercise their reproductive rights must include actions aimed at reducing women's exposures to violence against women.
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| 45. |
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Salazar, Mariano, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Questions about intimate partner violence should be part of contraceptive counselling : findings from a community-based longitudinal study in Nicaragua
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of family planning and reproductive health care. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 1471-1893 .- 2045-2098. ; 38:4, s. 221-228
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and methodology: The study aim was to examine whether exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) was associated with reversible contraceptive use in ever-pregnant partnered women. The authors conducted a longitudinal panel study in León municipality, Nicaragua. At baseline (2002–2003), 478 pregnant women were interviewed and 398 were available for questioning about contraceptive use 40–47 months after childbirth. IPV was assessed at baseline and follow-up, with women classified as never abused, ending abuse, continued abuse or new abuse. Reversible contraceptive use was defined as women using any form of contraception apart from sterilisation. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were used to assess the association between reversible contraceptive use, IPV patterns and IPV exposures at follow-up.Results: Eighty percent of the women were not pregnant and with a partner at follow-up. Half were using reversible contraceptives and 28% were sterilised. Women exposed to a continued abuse pattern (AOR 2.50, 95% CI 11.04–5.99), and those exposed to emotional (AOR 2.80, 95% CI 1.32–5.95), physical (AOR 3.60, 95% CI 1.15–11.10) or any IPV at follow-up (AOR 2.59, 95% CI 1.24–5.40) had higher odds of reversible contraceptive use than those not exposed, even after adjusting for demographic factors. No significant differences in the type of reversible contraceptive used were found between women exposed or not to IPV.Discussion and conclusions: IPV exposure was associated with more reversible contraceptive use. Abuse inquiring at health facilities providing contraceptives should be implemented to identify women exposed to IPV and provide adequate support.
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| 48. |
- Linderholm, Linda, 1978-
(författare)
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Assessment of Environmental Pollutants in Humans from Four Continents : Exposure levels in Slovakia, Guinea-Bissau, Nicaragua and Bangladesh
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Humans are continuously exposed to complex mixtures of anthropogenic chemicals. This thesis focus on human exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify together with the extensive historical use of POPs in e.g. agriculture and industry have resulted in detection of these compounds in humans and animals from all over the world. Adverse health effects caused by POPs are of particular concern for newborns and young individuals. The objective of this thesis is to assess human exposure to a selected set of POPs and their metabolites. More specifically, one aim of my thesis is to determine the exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and in particular their methylsulfonyl and hydroxylated metabolites in humans from a “hot-spot” area of PCB contamination in eastern Slovakia. The maternal transfer of these chemicals is studied. Further, another specific aim is to determine occurrence, levels and, when possible, temporal trends of POPs in children and adults from three developing countries, Nicaragua, Guinea-Bissau and Bangladesh. High concentrations of PCBs and their metabolites are shown in men and women from Michalovce in eastern Slovakia. Placental transfer of methylsulfonyl-metabolites of PCBs and 4,4’-DDE was observed for the first time. Decreasing temporal trends of the majority of POPs are shown in serum from a cohort of policemen from Guinea-Bissau. In contrast, the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) show an increasing time trend. Within five years, decreasing levels of POPs were also shown in children working and living at a waste disposal site in Nicaragua. Children working and living at waste disposal sites in Bangladesh have considerably lower levels of POPs compared to the children from Nicaragua except for 4,4’-DDT and 4,4’-DDE that are present at very high concentrations, indicating ongoing use of technical DDT. There are many studies on levels and trends of environmental pollutants from the developed industrial countries in the world, whereas data from developing countries is still scarce. This thesis contributes to partly fill this data gap since it includes assessments of POPs in children and adults from four countries on four continents.
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| 49. |
- Zapata Campos, María José, 1972, et al.
(författare)
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Global narratives of sustainable waste governance in Managua, Nicaragua
- 2011
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Ingår i: Globalization and Development: Rethinking Interventions and Governance.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waste is one of the glocal meta-problems and as such an issue for both global and local governance. While waste is a global fluid, with the risks and profitability associated to its movement, it is also an extremely localized phenomenon (Honor Fagan, 2003). The notion of waste is a construct. Its meaning varies between places and societies at different times (MacKillop, 2009); as does the way societies engage with their waste and deal with it. In the last decades waste governance has being constructed as a sustainability problem for both the global North and the global South. A significant number of international multi-lateral organisations are concerned with the issue of sustainable waste governance, bringing global ideas from the North to the South. Most international and national development aid organisations (e.g. UNEP, UN-Habitat, UE …) carry out development projects, programs and experiences of transference of knowledge and best practices regarding a sustainable waste governance. These discourses of what sustainable waste governance is generated by global organisations shape the local practices for the organizing of waste. The definition, problematisation, policies, plans, technologies and management models used for the governing of waste locally is affected considerably by the discourses within and amongst these global organisations, as are the practices of sustainability they propose and promote. However, the global discourse of a sustainable waste management is neither unique nor uniform. The multiplicity of global actors hence leads to a multiplicity of narratives and discourses on sustainable waste governance. In this paper we aim at exploring some of the many global narratives of waste governance in order to unfold how these views pervade local waste governance and policies. In order to do that the paper focus on the case study of Managua, in Nicaragua, and the six development projects funded by different international aid development organisations (Spanish and Italian Aid Agencies, UN-Habitat, US-AID, European Union URBAL, PNUD) related to the city waste governance. Our data consist of policy documents from these organisations supported by personal interviews with key actors related to these projects and non-participant observations over a multitude of meetings and events. After presenting the different global narratives of waste governance in the findings section, we discuss in the conclusions how predominant global waste narratives have stabilized in the discourse of an urban sustainable development in Managua. We end the paper by contextualizing the conclusions with the concepts, assumptions and practices that give shape to the policies and practices connected to ‘sustainable development’
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| 50. |
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